


Coffee Shop

by regisklandegre



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 12:46:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12481896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regisklandegre/pseuds/regisklandegre
Summary: You’re a student having a pretty stressful day. On your way home during a snowstorm you realize you’re basically stranded, so you look for refuge inside a coffee shop. Unfortunately, the manager doesn’t want you there.





	Coffee Shop

You were a hardworking student – at least, that’s what people told you and what you’d like to believe. You had missed a lab in bio due to mono (yeah, it  _ really _ sucked) and your teacher had kindly let you make it up after school the day you returned.

Unfortunately, you just had to choose the worst day to return back to school. There was so much snowfall today, the weathermen on tv were contemplating on whether or not this could even be classified as a blizzard. This made you wonder why school wasn’t cancelled today. 

 

You looked out the window and sighed at your misfortune. This morning the weather was relatively fine so, to your terrible judgment, you left your winter garments, including a proper coat. You got up from your chair and decided there was nothing to do but leave; the weather was just going to get worse anyway.

After washing your beakers and graduated cylinders and putting away the bunsen burner (which, by the way, had almost caught your hair on fire, leaving you even more stressed) you bid your teacher goodbye and speed walked through the empty halls of the school. 

 

All this hard work would pay off, you told yourself. Your lowest grade was bio. This lab, if you had done it correctly, would give your grade a much needed boost from an 89 to 90 and would mean that you were exempt from taking finals for each of your classes.

The struggle was worth it, you kept trying to convince yourself, but as you walked towards the see-through double doors that led you outside, your step faltered. You slowly opened the door to take a quick peek at the situation outside and suddenly contemplated whether or not it was childish to have a temper tantrum right then and there. 

 

You did not ask for your situation to end up like this, but it did and you hated it. Why did working hard barely ever pay off? You sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time today, remembering that you did not drive to school today and were dropped off and effectively forgot to make other driving arrangements.

After looking at the good 4 inches of snow on the ground, you doubted any of your friends would chance picking you up at this time. 

 

After taking a deep breath, you slowly walked outside. You looked ahead and the tiniest upward quirk of your lip adorned your features.

The school custodians had taken care of most of the snow on the sidewalk and there was already some fresh salt down the path. At least you didn’t have to worry about slipping and falling on your ass.

 

You got halfway through your trek home until  both the wind and snowfall got worse. Cursing your terrible luck, you decided you had to step into the nearest store or restaurant to avoid the terrible weather.

But again, to your absolutely terrible luck, nothing was open at this time. Of course, you thought, why would anything be open during a snowstorm. You walked down the sidewalk, your hope diminishing each step you took, and decided to just stop struggling and let the world take you. 

 

After a minute of dramatic thoughts raced through your head, you took a deep breath and looked around at the barren city around you. It felt like a ghost town, what with absolutely no one at all in any of the nearby stores or walking the streets. Cars were nowhere to be seen, either. 

 

You were ready to just curl up into a ball and cry, feeling like a lost child in this harsh world, even though you were literally an adult – 18. You couldn’t help it, though. Life was being really unfair right now. At least, that’s what you thought until, after contemplating what to do next, you looked to your right and saw the light of an ‘open’ sign on what seemed to be a small coffee shop.

After taking a second to wonder if that coffee shop had just opened, you felt a sliver of hope subtly work its way through your crushed feelings. You held onto that hope and gathered the courage you needed to walk across the snow covered street to the coffee shop.

When you reached the door of the coffee shop, you took a deep breath to calm your nerves (why were you nervous anyway?) and slowly opened the door. Peeking inside, you saw two (cute) guys around your age or slightly older wearing two (really cute) aprons with the name of the shop. ‘Aria.’ Heh,  _ cute. _

Just as you were about to say hello, the tall one with the long face and strong jaw started to speak. “Hyung, I told you we should have closed shop earlier. Look at the weather outside, we can’t even drive. It’s that bad.”

“It’s not that bad, Sehun,” said the short one. “If anything, we’ll wait until the storm passes. It shouldn’t take too long.”

“The forecast predicted 12 hours of snowfall. You know how long it’s been snowing for? 4. Do the math, Minseok hyung. That means I’ll be stuck here with you for another 8 hours. I just can’t do that.” Sehun crossed his arms and frustratedly let out a puff of air.

“Aw, little Sehunnie doesn’t love his hyung anymore? I see, that’s how it is. Don’t worry, your hyung loves you no matter what.” The older one, Minseok, ruffled Sehun’s hair albeit the difference in size.

“This wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t in charge. Luhan was the better manager,” said Sehun, biting his lip to stop from laughing at the distressed look on Minseok’s face upon hearing those words.

“Remind me why I haven’t fired you yet.”

“Because you love me.”

“No, I don’t.”

“But you just said so. Literally, like one minute ago.”

“Did I? I don’t remember such a thing.”

“Hyung!~”

As interesting as this exchange between the two was, and as cute as Sehun’s little whine was, you decided you could no longer handle being halfway outside in the freezing cold and halfway inside the shop where the warmth was welcoming and tempting you to come inside. “Um, hello?…”

Realizing that they weren’t alone in the shop, both Minseok and Sehun’s heads quickly turned in the direction of your voice to see your head peeking through the door.

“Um, hi,” Sehun was the first to speak. He gave you a quick wave. You smiled and felt like your luck was finally on the right track again until Minseok spoke. “Sorry, we’re closed,” he said, his voice sounding much harsher than the light-hearted tone it had when he was joking around with Sehun.

“Oh, um, okay. Sorry. It’s, uh, it’s just that the open sign was on and I just thought…” You silently cursed yourself for fumbling over your words when you need them most.

“Oh?” Minseok looked over to Sehun who sheepishly scratched the back of his head mouthing a ‘sorry’ to his boss. “Well, we’re still closed. Sorry about that.” You sigh. “It’s fine, really.”

You slightly wondered to yourself why you were the one reassuring him when he was the one making you feel nervous. You gave them a small bow and a quivering smile, closing the door behind you.

Once you got outside, you realized that the brief warmth from the shop distracted you from realizing that it had gotten much colder and darker outside. Your parents were probably worried sick right now, but you wouldn’t know because your phone had unfortunately died.

It was dark and cold. The weather had yet to let up; in fact, it was getting worse. The snow was much higher now and the sidewalk was no longer cleared. You swallowed, feeling a knot in your throat, and had to convince yourself that you were okay. That you were not about to cry right now. Your house was only less than three miles away. You could do this. While you were pumping yourself up for the rest of the long trek home, two other boys were talking about you

“Hyung… that was kinda mean,” Sehun said slowly, fearing that harsh words would worsen his boss’s mood. “It’s not mean, Sehun. We’re closed which means we can’t accept anymore customers.” “But… that person looked like they needed a place to stay.”

Sehun bit his lip, worried about you. He made his way over to the window to see if you were still nearby. “That’s even worse, Sehun. They were probably going to stay here without even paying for a cup of coffee. We don’t accept people into this shop if they aren’t going to buy anything.”

Sehun turned around raising an eyebrow at his boss, the look on his face clearly saying ‘really?’. “Minseok… you’re not being serious right now, are you? Do you see the weather outside? It’s dangerous for someone to be walking outside in a blizzard, Minseok. A blizzard!”

Frustrated with his boss, Sehun walked out the shop to bring you back. “Sehun, wait!…” Minseok sighed, running his hand through his hair, trying to deny the fact that Sehun effectively exploited the flaw in his logic and that he might feel a little ashamed for leaving you out in the cold.

You finally had the confidence you needed to walk back home when you heard someone yelling out to someone… to you? You turned around to see the tall handsome guy from the coffee shop you were just in calling out to you.

With both his hands parallel to each other on either side of his mouth to maximize the volume of his voice, he called out and said, “Do you need a place to stay?” You yelled back at him. “No, I’m fine! I don’t want to intrude.”

Looking frustrated, he walked up to you. “I feel like I’ve said this a thousand times but LOOK at this weather.” He dramatically waved his hands out in front of him. “Do you see how terrible it is out here? I’m not letting someone walk during a blizzard. Come on, come with me.”

“But…”

“No buts. You’re not intruding at all. I’m sorry my boss is a little bit of an ass. He’s a good guy, I promise. He just cares about his coffee shop a lot.” He held out his hand and smiled. “Are you sure?” you asked. “I’m sure,” he replied, smiling when you finally gave him your hand. He led you inside once again.

Once inside, you were sat down in a booth in the corner of the store hoping you weren’t a bother to the other two. Sehun saw this and chuckled. “Why are you hiding? I promise, you’re not intruding on us.”

You shook your head and lied. “I’m not hiding. I just… like this booth the most?” He smiled, but didn’t say anything else. You twiddled your thumbs, wondering if it was a good idea to ask for a coffee when they were closing up shop when felt a presence beside you.

When you looked up you jumped a little in your seat, not expecting Minseok to be next to you. He stared into your eyes for a moment. After what seemed like forever, he took a deep bow. Confused, you asked, “Um.. why?”

“I’m…” Minseok started, swallowing his pride. “I’m sorry for how I treated you. These less than desirable conditions are not anything anyone should have to deal with. I should have let you stay, and I didn’t. Again, I’m sorry.”

You were slightly taken aback, not at all expecting him to apologize. As you stared at him he looked slightly uncomfortable, fidgeting under your gaze as he waited for your response. Realizing this, you quickly responded.

“Oh! Um! You really didn’t have to apologize. I understand. You don’t want anyone lollygagging in your shop after hours. This terrible weather isn’t your fault.”

He smiled a bit and you felt something stir within you seeing his smile for the first time and having it directed at you. “Do you want any coffee? It’s on the house.” You nodded but quickly added, “Sure, but I can pay for it.”

He shook his head, already turning around to leave. “You don’t have to pay for anything. It’s the least I can do after almost making you leave in that weather.”

“Almost?” You heard Sehun call out from wherever he was. You looked outside the booth to see Sehun with his hands on his hips. “You did make her leave. I was the one who stopped her from leaving.” Rolling his eyes, Minseok waved him off. “Now that’s just semantics, Sehun.”

You chuckled a bit, seeing them return to their playful banter you suddenly realized you really enjoy.

“How do you like your coffee?” You heard Minseok call from behind the counter. “Almond milk and two sugars please!” You called back. While Minseok was making your coffee, Sehun came back to your booth and slid into the seat across from you.

“Hi.” He gave you a wide smile, flashing his pearly white teeth at you.

“Hi,” you replied, chuckling at his boyish charm.

After a few moments of seemingly analyzing you, he spoke again. “You feel better now? You looked like you were about to cry earlier.”

“Yeah, I noticed that, too,” Minseok called out. “What was that about?”

“Oh…” You deflated a little, suddenly remembering what got you into this mess. “I had to make up some work after school because I was sick last week and I kinda failed to realize it was going to snow so badly today and I had no car to drive back home and I had to walk 3 more miles home but the weather got so bad that I just couldn’t and I just, I – ugh.”

You sighed and slouched back in your seat. “I’m so glad you let me stay here.” Sehun gave you a look of sympathy. “And I’m glad I didn’t let you walk three whole miles in this storm.” You gave him a weak smile, still feeling slightly frustrated at today’s turn of events.

“Hopefully Minseok’s coffee makes you feel better.” He leaned in and whispered, “For someone as stubborn as Minseok, he makes the best coffee.”

“I can hear that, Sehun,” Minseok said as he walked towards the two of you with your coffee. “Careful, it’s hot,” he said as he placed the cup in your hands. He sat down next to Sehun in the booth, the two of them waiting for you to take the first sip.

So you did.

Immediately, your eyes lit up and you felt your mood rapidly improve. “This is so good! Wow! I’ve never tasted anything like this before.”

Minseok sheepishly grinned, feeling proud of himself. “I’m glad you liked it…, um…”

“(Y/n),” you replied.

“(Y/n)…,” Minseok tried your name, and you blushed when you realized you enjoyed how it sounded when he said it. Sehun noticed the brewing chemistry between you two and elbowed Minseok, raising his eyebrows.

Both you and Minseok ignored him. Besides, you didn’t know anything about chemistry. You were a bio student.

You continued to drink your coffee while Sehun and Minseok added (not so insightful) commentary here and there until the three of you were fully engaged in a conversation.

You found out that Sehun was a high school student at the high school in the neighboring town and he was actually younger than you by a year.

Minseok was 21 and was a college student majoring in music. He also played for his university’s soccer team. You wondered how he had the time to work at the coffee shop.

You also found out that although this cute little coffee shop had just opened up a year ago, they struggled monetarily due to the big coffee franchises down the street competing with them. Although Minseok was a music major, his secondary passion was coffee. He wasn’t ready to let this place go just yet.

You found yourself admiring Minseok’s passion for coffee and the hard work he put into school and sports. It made you feel less isolated and proud that you also put in hard work. The conversation lasted for about 3 hours.

You don’t know exactly when, but after the conversation died down you found yourself drifting off into sleep.

“(Y/n),” you heard a voice softly call out to you. You shook your head mumbling something about not wanting to wake up and how much you liked the sound of this voice. The person calling out to you chuckled and softly nudged your shoulder, attempting to wake you up. “It’s time to wake up.”

After hearing this person’s voice twice, you realized you weren’t at home. You jolted awake and looked around you until you saw who the voice belonged to. And then you blushed. “M-Minseok? Huh? What am I doing here?”

He smiled and said, “You fell asleep a little while ago.” You suddenly felt nervous and asked, “How long was I asleep for?” Minseok looked at his watch. “Only for about 30 minutes. We decided to let you sleep until the weather cleared up.”

First, you looked down to see a soft blanket covering your legs. Then, you looked up to the clock on the wall to see that it was 9:30 pm. Lastly, you looked outside to see that the snow had stopped and that the streets were clear of snow.

“Here,” Sehun said as he walked up to you, handing you your phone. “We have the same phone so I decided to charge it after you mentioned that it was dead. Also, you have like 30 missed calls… from your parents.”

You cursed to yourself suddenly remembering that you had forgotten to call your parents. “Um, thank you, really. And thanks for the blanket, too.”

“No problem,” he smiled.

You got up and stretched a bit. After gathering your clothes you turned to your two new acquaintances. “Guys, thank you again for letting me stay here until the storm ended.”

“It was no biggie,” said Sehun. “Plus, Minseok and I got to meet a really cute person today. It worked out for all of us.” You hear Minseok clear his throat just as you blushed.

“It’s time for me to head home now,” you said, yawning. “You sure you don’t need anyone to walk you home?” you head Minseok ask. “I can walk home myself. The weather has cleared up now, so I think I’m okay. Thank you for the offer, though.”

The three of you stood in an awkward silence for a moment until Sehun suddenly spoke up again. “Minseok hyung works on Wednesdays and Fridays from 3 to 7.”

You stared at him confused for moment until you realized what he was saying and blushed, again. “Um…”

“Sehun, I was not joking about firing you.”

“And I was not joking about your work hours. Seriously, (y/n),” he turned to you, “Minseok is always here on those days. Don’t forget it.”

You chuckled a bit at the flustered look on his hyung’s face and answered, “I promise I’ll keep that in mind…” You stood there again in awkward silence. “I guess,” you started, “it’s time for me to leave.” You bowed to them and thanked them for their help once more. You turned around and were halfway through the door when you heard Minseok’s voice again.

“You’ll come back, right?” You heard the hope in his voice and you had to tell yourself you weren’t falling for this boy, no you were not.

You looked over your shoulder and gave him a charming smile, to which he blushed. “Yeah, I think I will… I’ll come back to this coffee shop.” You turned back around and walked out.

“You’re in looooooooove,” Sehun said, trying to annoy the older boy (and succeeding).

“Aaaaaaaand you’re fired.”


End file.
